1. Field of the Invention
Devices, systems, and methods consistent with the invention relate to welding, and more specifically to devices, systems and methods for pulse welding with an AC waveform.
2. Incorporation by Reference
The present invention generally relates to improvement in spatter and heat input in welding systems of the general type described in each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,215,100 and 7,304,269, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
3. Description of the Related Art
In electric arc welding, a popular welding process is pulse welding which primarily uses a solid wire electrode with an outer shielding gas. MIG welding uses spaced pulses which first melt the end of an advancing wire electrode and then propels the molten metal from the end of the wire through the arc to the workpiece. A globular mass of molten metal is transferred during each pulse period of the pulse welding process. During certain pulse periods, especially in applications where the welding electrode operates very close to the workpiece, molten metal contacts the workpiece before being entirely released from the advancing wire electrode. This creates a short circuit (a.k.a., a short) between the advancing wire electrode and the workpiece. It is desirable to eliminate or clear the short rapidly to obtain the consistency associated with proper pulse welding. However, clearing a short can result in undesirable spatter being generated. Such spatter causes inefficiencies in the welding process and can result in molten metal being spattered over the workpiece which may have to be removed later using a grinding tool, for example.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional, traditional, and proposed approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such approaches with embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.